INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STRATEGY CONSULTANTS

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West Four IP is a boutique intellectual property consulting firm that was created in 2014 to deliver IP strategy advice and patent & technology licensing services to business leaders, investors, R&D and legal teams.

Unlike companies that provide a pile of data or fancy slides, West Four’s work is customized to meet the specific needs of each client and we leave our clients with answers and an executable plan for moving forward.

West Four is geared to provide a sophisticated blend of technical, business and strategy expertise at a much lower cost than law firms or IP consulting firms with high fixed costs. To enable cost certainty, West Four projects are typically provided on a flat fee or reduced hourly fee basis.

Ensure IP Strategy is Linked to Business Strategy. Companies that use intellectual property successfully and strategically will have alignment between the business strategy and intellectual property generation and protection strategy. The high cost of patent prosecution and global maintenance fees puts a premium on ensuring that resources are not wasted on assets that end up being non-core to the business. West Four has successfully helped its clients review their intellectual property portfolio and “right sized” and “right scoped” it to the clients’ business strategy and then implement a plan to ensure that the filing strategy stayed aligned with the business goals.

Due Diligence for Acquisition or Investment. West Four advises operating companies, venture funds, and private equity funds on intellectual property coverage, valuation and due diligence required to assess whether to invest, divest or acquire companies. West Four also advises funds on intellectual property strategy needs of portfolio companies.

Patent Landscaping to Assess IP Position. Doing a patent landscape on its core technology and in adjacent segments helps a company understand how its patent portfolio compares to the portfolios of its competitors and companies upstream and downstream in the supply chain. While other companies use software-generated landscapes and presentations, West Four customizes its patent landscape reports to answer its clients’ questions and address the clients’ specific needs.

Identify Revenue Growth Opportunities in Adjacent Segments. West Four has helped companies grow revenue by identifying opportunities to expand the use of the company’s technology into adjacent segments. West Four’s landscaping capability also helps companies identify potential partners with synergistic intellectual property to fill gaps, accelerate development, and grow revenue.

Portfolio Strategy

Identify White Space for IP Generation or Acquisition. Doing a patent landscape on its core technology can help a company identify potential opportunities for development work and IP generation. A patent landscape that includes both core, adjacent, and downstream technology opens up even more opportunity to use intellectual property strategically. West Four has helped its clients identify new areas for investment to strengthen their IP position by either adjusting R&D or filing strategy, by acquisition or by strategic license agreement.

Value Chain Analysis to Compare Portfolio against Competitors, Suppliers, and Customers. A value chain analysis allows a company to understand how its patent portfolio compares to the portfolios of competitors, suppliers and customers both in the company’s core technology and in adjacent segments. While other companies use software-generated reports and presentations, West Four customizes its searches and reports to answer its clients’ questions and address the clients’ specific needs.

Optimize Invention Generation Process. West Four can help companies optimize their invention generation process, which increases the number of disclosures and the quality of the disclosures. West Four advisors serve as a facilitator between the company’s inventors and its patent attorney as well as lead targeted brainstorming sessions designed to identify and solve technological problems and lead to new invention disclosures. West Four also conducts patentability searches.

Trade Secret Audit to Identify and Protect Proprietary Information. Given the complexities and cost of seeking patent protection as well as the disclosure requirements, companies are increasingly choosing to maintain proprietary solutions as trade secrets. West Four has helped clients identify trade secrets and implemented procedures to ensure that the information is appropriately protected.

Ensure Portfolio Scope is Appropriate for Product/Service Mix and Geography. Companies that use intellectual property successfully and strategically will have alignment between the business strategy and intellectual property generation and protection strategy. The high cost of patent prosecution and global maintenance fees puts a premium on ensuring that resources are not wasted on assets that end up being non-core to the business. West Four has successfully helped its clients review their intellectual property portfolio and “right sized” and “right scoped” it to the clients’ business strategy and then implement and plan to ensure that the filing strategy stayed aligned with the business goals.

Value Extraction

Identify Monetization Opportunities. West Four helps companies mine their intellectual property portfolio for revenue generation opportunities. These opportunities may be strategic licensing campaigns, sales, spin-offs or opportunities to divest non-core and non-strategic intellectual property to realize a cost savings. West Four’s team has collectively generated over $3 billion in revenue from intellectual property monetization for clients.

Generate Business Case for Monetization Program. Once monetization opportunities have been identified, the art is in devising a strategy to maximize value and minimize risk. West Four helps companies prioritize targets, taking into account any potential risks, costs and exposure, and maps out the strategy timeline. Unlike other monetization firms, West Four leaves all the decision-making in the hands of the client and its strategic objectives.

Create Licensing/Litigation-Ready Evidence of Use. West Four has significant experience generating evidence of use to support patent monetization projects, including doing tear-down analysis of infringing articles.

Negotiate Royalty Bearing or Strategic Cross-licenses. Working with the clients’ in-house or outside counsel, West Four helps companies negotiate intellectual property-related agreements such as royalty bearing licenses as part of a monetization program, strategic cross-licenses, patent sale agreements or other agreements dealing with rights in intellectual property. West Four’s team has collectively generated over $3 billion in revenue from intellectual property monetization for clients.

Valuation of Intellectual Property. Whether for a transaction, financing or other purpose, West Four helps companies value its intellectual property and marries its knowledge of intellectual property with valuation experts and methodologies including cost, income, or market.

Optimize Defensive Position. West Four has provided clients with a product and service-mapped taxonomy identifying the assets that cover the client’s products and services as well as those assets that can be used strategically.